About this glorious mmo podcast (below are the annotations for the entire triple cast):

1 hour of mmo podcast pleasure

EQ1: Barabarian is a clas not race.

Return to LOTRO, waste of time on WOW/EQ2 clones, go into detail about this. (Runekeeper is LOTRO on easy mode; everyone gets 1 hour res, etc.)

Briefly talk about playing Meridian59. (The free on-official server) Small pop not enough PVE, very outdated graphics, etc. if the official has a higher population then it might be worth it.

Disclaimer that I am a D&D fanboy. (Hate it when people say other MMO’s are the closest thing to D&D. D&D is the real deal.

Go into detail about XP, questing leveling. No grinding, only get XP from finishing quests. Can do quests in solo, normal, hard or elite difficulty. (XP scales, 25% hard, 50% elite.)

Talk about PVE in detail. Have to complete quest to get the XP. Quests have puzzles, levers, DM voice in the background. Go into detail about the “Proof is in the Poison Quest”, as an example. Talk about how quests are liek D&D as they should be, this isn’t your typical grind hack and slash like in WOW, LOTRO, etc.

Go into detail about Rest Shines SP (Mana) Management, Death/Res, Soul Stones, how to rest, etcAI is very smart and scales with difficulty.

No auto lock on targeting, have a target and must mouse over your target. (No tab target.)

Talk about how the quests are laid out in town and how the instancing works. Compare it to how much better it is compared to Guild Wars for example.

Grouping/LFG system. How it works, benefits of grouping. Can be played solo but game is meant to be played as a group. (Grouping is where it is at.) Incentive to group has you get more XP for hard and elite. Not based on how many mobs you kill. (Bonus for not dying, side quests, kill bosses etc, but penalties if the level is too high.)

F2P VS. Premium and VIP accounts, the differences, what you get. Talk about the game being free etc, quest packs, XP buffs, etc

Talk about the D&D mechanics such as saving throws and DC checks and skills to lead into the topic on classes.

Rouge Class is not a DPS class. Unlike any other MMO they can search for traps, disarm them, and have a real use in dungeons to pick locks unlike WOW. How into detail on the Rouge and how everyone has the basic search skill.

Fighter classes, Fighter, Barbarian, Pally, Ranger

Casters, Wizard, Sorcerer class in detail.

Casters healers, Cleric Favored Soul.

Bard class and how it is different from other MMO’s.

Skills, abilities, enhancements, feats, penalties that feats can help with etc.

Human example 28 points to allocate.

Auction House

Buying from vendors, haggle skill

Soul bound items are only from some quest rewards that I have seen so far and a lot of items are BOE or BOP

Durability of items and how bonuses don’t stack

Very gear focused game.

Cooldowns and item use per day/rest period, rest shrines.

Items do have level restrictions, etc talk about why frost bane weapons and very good and sell for a lot./dd>

Upcoming MMO PODCASTS

Mortal Online (MO): softcore DFO??? Good graphics, free for all pvp with an L2 style spin.

and many more…

Stray Bullet Games (No Name Yet): from the makers of Shadowbane, comes a mystery meat mmo. Will this be first person perspective, sandbox, loot, full loot? Nobody knows, YET, not even God.

(Aion): from the makers of L2, comes another L2 with upgraded graphics and flying? Not exactly sure what to make of this yet, once we have an idea we will cast on it. I do plan to have an Aion “buff” on future cast (actually have one lined up :D).